Two surreal dates in West Brom's 2025/26 Championship calendar as kick-off looms

Players come and go. Loan moves are even more short-lived. The January transfer window is now more than two decades old, so more than a generation of fans are well-versed in chopping and changing mid-season, too.

But, despite that, there are two dates for the season ahead that will have those connected to the Baggies winding back their minds a few years.

Saturday, October 25 2025 and Saturday, April 25 2026.

As it stands - before television broadcasters get their mits on them and undoubtedly alter the schedule - the fixtures against Ipswich Town at Portman Road and at The Hawthorns, respectively.

Onlookers, or indeed participants, on those dates will be forgiven for thinking they have found themselves back around 2020-2022.

Almost Ipswich's entire backline and goalkeeper department is a who's who of the Baggies from that era.

Welcoming Ryan Mason and the visitors to Suffolk in late October will be three former Albion defenders and two goalkeepers.

Dara O'Shea, Conor Townsend and Cedric Kipre make up part of Kieran McKenna's defensive options.

Alex Palmer and David Button are two of the Tractor Boys' senior goalkeepers.

That's 520 Baggies games between them. Now, facing familiar foes is not unusual - but Albion v Ipswich this season is an extreme example.

McKenna, the former Manchester United who took Ipswich on back-to-back promotions before relegation from the Premier League last term, must have really enjoyed what he saw of Carlos Corberan's Albion squad in the 2023/24 campaign.

For what it is worth Albion - with Palmer, Townsend and Kipre in the side - beat Ipswich at The Hawthorns that season and were seconds away from three points on the day Daryl Dike was carted off injured in tears.

Perhaps there was something in McKenna taking note?

The crossover stretches beyond the playing squad, too. Ipswich chairman Mark Ashton was a Baggies youth and reserve goalkeeper in the late 1980s and became a director at The Hawthorns for 14 years until after promotion in 2004.

Some of the aforementioned quintet have taken slightly different routes between the Black Country and the largest town in Suffolk.

Only two of the five - Palmer and Townsend - went directly from one club to the other.

Academy graduate Palmer made the switch in January for an initial fee in the region of £2million-£3million, possibly rising nearer to £5m. It was a late window sale which shook Albion and their play-off aspirations. And they never recovered. Palmer impressed in the Premier League but Ipswich could not do enough to survive.

Left-back Townsend moved 12 months ago for a relatively nominal fee after six years of Albion service. Leif Davis is Ipswich's main left-back, but if the highly-rated Davis moves on, Townsend will be called upon. The Baggies promotion-winner is now 32.

Others have had more scenic routes.

O'Shea, the Baggies defensive academy graduate, was the first to join Ipswich. He did so via Burnley in 2024 after leaving Albion a season earlier. O'Shea's sale for around £7m in June 2023 was pivotal in Albion escaping the clutches of an FFP breach amid the doom days under Guochuan Lai. Irishman O'Shea, 26, has since played two Premier League seasons with Burnley and Ipswich and been relegated in both - but is highly-regarded and this summer penned a new five-year deal.

Ivory Coast defender Kipre left Albion after a very impressive 2023/24 season to join Reims in the French top flight. He had one season at the relegated outfit and played 34 times before Ipswich moved for a loan this summer.

On the bench against Albion could be David Button. The veteran goalkeeper, 36, was mostly back-up at The Hawthorns but endured some dark days between the sticks in Steve Bruce's dismal time in charge. He has since played regularly at Reading and surprisingly moved to Portman Road as third or fourth choice this summer.

It will make for unusual viewing if Ipswich line up with O'Shea and Kipre in the heart of their backline and Townsend at left-back, in front of Palmer in goal.

There will be no shortage of renewed acquaintances at Portman Road later this year - and the feeling will be odder still in late April for the penultimate game of the season where so much could well be on the line for both sides.

One thing is for certain, in sure-fire regulars Palmer, O'Shea and Kipre, Ipswich have some ready-made Championship class.